Dangers of Teen Driving Are Focus of Book Launch, Aiming to Limit Tragedies

Law firm Hinckley Allen, with offices in eight states including Connecticut,  hosted a book launch celebration recently for the release of the third edition of Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving, an acclaimed, research-based guide for parents, co-authored by Connecticut resident and firm Partner Timothy Hollister and highway safety expert Pam Shadel Fischer of the Governors Highway Safety Association.

It also includes a foreword by Dr. William Van Tassel, AAA’s National Manager of Driver Training Programs, whose expertise offers a national perspective on the challenges facing young drivers today.

The event, held at Hinckley Allen’s Providence office with Hollister and Fischer in attendance, coincided with National Teen Driver Safety Week, a time dedicated to raising awareness of teen crash risks and promoting safer driving behaviors.

This latest edition arrives at a time of growing urgency and reinforces its mission to help parents navigate one of the most dangerous periods in a teen’s life.

 After two decades of progress in reducing crashes and fatalities among teen drivers, recent data show that those numbers are climbing once again. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, with fatal crashes involving young drivers increasing by more than 10% in recent years, according to the law firm.

“This book was written for every parent who’s ever handed their teen the car keys and felt that moment of fear,” said Tim Hollister, co-author and Partner at Hinckley Allen, based in Hartford. “Not So Fast turns that fear into guidance, clear, evidence-based steps that can save lives.”

Hollister turned tragedy into public service after his 17-year-old son, Reid, died in a 2006 car crash. Appointed by then Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell to a task force on teen driver laws, Hollister helped transform Connecticut’s laws from among the most lenient to some of the strictest in the nation, leading to a sharp decline in teen crashes and fatalities.

He went on to launch the blog From Reid’s Dad, speak nationally on teen driver safety, and receive the U.S. Department of Transportation’s highest civilian award for traffic safety. In 2013, Hollister published the first edition of Not So Fast. In 2015, he published His Father Still: A Parenting Memoir, reflecting on parenting, loss, and healing after his son’s death; the book was later selected for the Oprah Book Club Summer Reading list.

“We are incredibly proud of Tim and the impact of this important work,” said Patrick A. Rogers, Managing Partner of Hinckley Allen. “His dedication to public safety and education reflects the very best of our profession, using experience and compassion to make a lasting difference beyond the practice of law.”

Co-author Fischer is a nationally recognized expert on teen driver safety with over 40 years of experience advancing traffic safety at the local, state, and national levels. A former Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety under Governor Jon Corzine and longtime AAA New Jersey leader, she now serves as Senior Director of External Engagement for the Governors Highway Safety Association, managing relationships with state highway safety offices. Through her consulting work and extensive publications, Fischer has become a leading voice on issues including teen driver education, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, and impaired, distracted, and drowsy driving.